PIAC exposes NDC over ‘ghost’ oil projects

Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has revealed that its inspection has revealed that oil-funded projects in the three Northern Regions in 2016 are non-existent.

Chairman of PIAC, Dr Steve Manteaw, addressing a press conference in Accra yesterday said PIAC was compiling what he described as a list of ‘Ghost projects’ and will soon call upon the Auditor-General for further investigation.

According to a 2013 report on the management of petroleum revenues by PIAC, an amount of GH¢372.07 million out of the GH¢543.78 million of the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) representing 68.42 per cent was spent on roads and other infrastructure.

Also, according to the report, the remaining GH¢287.20 million representing 35 per cent of the ABFA allocation was spent on several infrastructural sectors, including energy, education, water, housing, security and health.

He alleged that: “Six projects were inspected in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions [and] the findings and observations were overwhelming with fifty per cent of the projects being non-existent.”

In the committee’s interaction with indigenes of the regions during “our district engagement in about sixty districts later in 2016, concerns were raised as to whether PIAC verifies projects which have been reported by the ministry of finance to have been undertaken with petroleum revues.”

He said, “over fifty per cent of school projects inspected showed signs of serious deterioration in less than three years after completion” including a six-unit classroom block at Apedwa SDA Primary School in the East Akim District of the Eastern Region which has begun to sink due to poor siting and shoddy work.